Of Purebloods and Others
by Hogwarts Style Maven
Summary: I'm not sure how to summarize this, so I'll just say there is definitely more to it than this. The later parts take place during the Potter era at Hogwarts. Caradoc Dearborn, Emmaline Vance, Lucius Malfoy, & original characters.


At the age of six, Lila Dearborn was unsurprised to find that she could do magic. For as long as she could remember, her older brother Caradoc had the gift, and she was certain the same ability would pass down to her. Her parents couldn't explain this phenomenon, since they could not do magic, and had never experienced the same peculiar incidents as their children. But it was very odd that this curious event struck both children.

When Caradoc was nearing his eleventh birthday, a man had arrived at the home of the Dearborns with an invitation to his school. "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," he had called it. His name was Albus Dumbledore, and a more peculiar man the Dearborns could not have found. His long sweeping hair and beard were long enough to tuck into his belt, which held up very interesting clothes, to say the least. He wore a midnight blue cloak, with silver stars splashed onto it in a dizzying array. He seemed kind enough, and his twinkling blue eyes put the Dearborns at ease.

"Caradoc has a place at Hogwarts, if he so wishes to attend."

Caradoc, who had had some very unpleasant experiences at his former school, was very eager to attend. At Hogwarts, he'd be with children who were like him, and he wouldn't have to suppress his magic. Odd things happened to him when he attended regular school, and he knew it was because he didn't have full control over his rare skill.

"I would like to attend. When does school start?"

"On the first of September. You will catch the Hogwarts Express at King's Cross Station."

"King's Cross?" Mr. Dearborn fixed Dumbledore with a puzzled glance. "Then everybody knows about this school?"

"Oh no, not Muggles," Dumbledore replied. "I mean, non-magical people, such as yourself, have no idea about the school's existence. No, there's a secret platform, 9 3/4 that our students board on."

Mr. Dearborn nodded. "Now, what was that term you used? Muggles?"

"Yes; you and your wife are Muggles. You cannot do magic. Now Caradoc here, though he is Muggle-born, is able to. It is an inexplicable occurrence, but not a rare one."

"But Lila can do magic as well," Mrs. Dearborn cut in.

"Lila is your daughter, yes?"

Mrs. Dearborn nodded. "After all the trouble Caradoc went through at his, um, Muggle school, we've decided to delay Lila's attending public school. Not as though she needed to anyway. She's really a very bright girl, and I think her magical talent had some hand in it. She can read you know, and very well, mind you, but I don't think anything besides learning magic will hold her interest for very long."

"Then Lila too can attend Hogwarts when she is of age. Eleven that is."

"Eleven?" Lila suddenly burst into the room. The strictures her parents had given her about eavesdropping had never fully taken root. Lila had stood outside the door, one ear pressed to it, in growing anticipation. "Why do I have to wait for so long?"

Dumbledore smiled down at her serenely. "You're too young. Students at Hogwarts begin at age eleven, and leave at age seventeen."

A crease appeared between her eyebrows. "But what about mum and dad?" she demanded. "They can't do magic. Why can me and Caradoc?"

"You may have had a witch or wizard on your family tree. Of course, it may have been an obscure family member." He glanced up at the Dearborns, who exchanged looks, and shrugged their shoulders.

"Now Caradoc, here is a list of all the school supplies you'll need."

"Where will I get them all? Not in London?" he asked skeptically.

"Diagon Alley is the place to find everything on that list. If you would like for me to accompany you, I can be of great assistance."

"That would be welcome," Mrs. Dearborn said, peering down at the list.

"Can I come too?" Lila asked.

"I don't see why not," Mrs. Dearborn sighed. "In a few years' time, you'll be getting all your school things there as well."

Caradoc smirked at his sister. "You'll have to wait five years before you can get a wand like me," he said impressively. Lila blinked at him reproachfully, and then turned to Dumbledore.

"I'm afraid he's right. But he'd do well not to brag about it."

After five years had passed, Lila was ready to join Caradoc at Hogwarts. Unlike her fellow first years, Lila did not walk forward to wear the Sorting Hat on shaky legs. She was, as the Muggle phrase goes, as cool as a cucumber. There she was, brimming with confidence and beaming around at the Great Hall as the hat was placed on her head by Professor McGonagall.

"Quite the confident one, aren't we?" the hat buzzed in her ear.

"Why be scared of an old hat?"

"I may be old, but you won't find many hats like me!"

"Obviously; not many hats talk, do they?"

"Good point. Now let's see where to put you..."

Lila was thinking of Caradoc, who had been sorted into Ravenclaw. She didn't have to join the same house as her brother necessarily, but she knew that's where she belonged. As her mother had rightly predicted, Lila didn't have the patience or interest for Muggle subjects. In fact, whenever Caradoc came home from Hogwarts for the holidays, Lila would pore over his books, studying and gleaning all that she could. Though she knew underage wizards weren't allowed to do magic outside of school, this didn't stop her from sneaking into Caradoc's room and trying out a spell with his wand. Everything she attempted to learn on her own from her brother's schoolbooks were things that greatly fascinated her, and things she was able to understand without difficulty. Then it was clear that the House that valued cleverness above all other traits was the perfect place for her.

"Ravenclaw," she thought.

"Why, I was thinking the same thing," the hat replied. "You'll do marvelous there. You've got an exceptional mind."

"Tell me something I don't know. That is your job, isn't it?"

"I'd try for a little more modesty, miss. Then be it, RAVENCLAW."

Lila breezed off the stool amidst the applause and joined Caradoc at the Ravenclaw table. The hat was certainly right about two things; she was quick witted, and she should try not to boast about it. Besides her brother, she didn't have friends in the Muggle world. She blamed that on her parents. They worried that the neighbors and others would discover the family secret. She would have to be like Caradoc, who never bragged, was kind, and was well liked by his classmates. The only difference there would be that Lila would not be quiet like her brother, but would be her outgoing, friendly self. Her mother had once joked that Lila's magic must have been the reason her charm was so pronounced, even at a young age. No, it shouldn't be hard to make worthwile friends at Hogwarts. Here, everyone was like her, and she would be accepted.

"Out of the way, Mudblood."

Three years had passed since the sorting, but it wasn't the first time that insult had been hurled at Lila. The speaker was Lucius Malfoy, a pale, rather unpleasant Slytherin.

"I'd try excuse me," Lila snapped at him. "Most civilized people say excuse me."

"Fine; excuse me, Mudblood."

A couple of people sniggered. Lila glared at Malfoy, who was smirking haughtily at her now, a gleam of satisfaction in his pale gray eyes.

"You don't own this place, you know. Being Pureblood doesn't give you special rights or anything!"

"Doesn't it? This coming from the Mudblood who thinks she's real important all because she can ride a broomstick."

"What? Are you jealous? Does the fact that I'm a better Quidditch player than you put your wand in a knot?"

Lucius' eyes widened. "How dare you?"

"Dare what? I'm sorry; I didn't mean to say, better player. You can't play at all."

She didn't wait to hear his retort, which would have been characteristically nasty. Instead, she turned on her heel and headed up to the Ravenclaw common room. One of her very good friends, Emmaline Vance, was sitting in an armchair by the fire. Emmaline's eyebrows were furrowed and her nose was buried in a book.

"Still reading up on that old diadem?" Lila asked.

Emmaline looked up and smiled. "Of course. I'd love to know where it was hidden." The smile slid slowly off her face as she could see that Lila was visibly upset. "What's wrong?"

"Malfoy," Lila spat. "He really thinks he's something special, doesn't he?"

"Well, yeah," Emmaline replied. "I mean, he is a Pureblood, isn't he?" she asked sarcastically.

"But you're Pureblood, and you don't act like that."

"Well, I'm decent, aren't I? What has he done this time?"

"Called me a Mudblood," Lila said quietly.

"Not out of character," Emmaline said darkly. "But I thought by now you'd know not to let it bother you."

"Not let it bother me? It's a dirty name to call someone!" Her voice was indignant, and her hazel eyes sparkled with angry tears.

"I know, Lila, really I do. I would be angry if it were me. But I thought by now you realized he only ever calls you that because he's jealous of you."

Lila's eyes widened and she gave Emmaline her trademark, skeptical look. "Jealous?"

"Yeah. Think about it. You're Muggle-born; he's a Pureblood. You get better marks than he does. Despite your 'low birth'-she drew air quotes around the words-"people genuinely like you. And to top it all off, you're an excellent Seeker. A bit of a show off, but excellent, nonetheless."

In spite of herself, Lila smiled. "Thanks Em." But the smile turned back into a frown. "So, if I was a Pureblood, all of that wouldn't bother him so much?"

Emmaline considered. "I doubt it would. You might still irk people on the Quidditch pitch because you're such a ham, but I'm pretty sure he'd be ok with you."

Lila's look of disbelief was accompanied by a snort. "That's just racist!" she exclaimed.

Emmaline noddd heavily. "Well, you'll find not all Purebloods are as wonderful as me." She flashed Lila a winning smile and returned to her book.

"What about Richard?" Lila asked. "You and Malfoy's cousin?"

"Hang on." Emmaline raised a hand. "Let's get something straight. As unfortunate as it is for Richard to be related to Malfoy, I am not."

Lila rolled her eyes. "I wasn't saying you were. I'm just saying Richard is Pureblood, and he's Malfoy's first cousin, but he isn't like that at all!"

"Well, Richard's family is decent. The Carrolls have never been prejudiced against anyone. Unless you count stupid people."

Emmaline was being serious and Lila knew this to be true. Seven generations of the Carroll family had been Sorted into Ravenclaw, and they were famous within Hogwarts and the wizarding community for their exceptional intelligence. They were one of the oldest Pureblood familes alive, but they didn't have low opinions of Muggle-borns or Half Bloods. The only people they seemed to share a common disdain for were people who wasted their minds. Or who were just stupid.

Richard himself was very bright, and though he was a polite, quiet boy, he was also a clown. He, unlike Malfoy, was friends with everyone. As far as Emmaline and everyone in their year was concerned, Richard had a bit of a crush on Lila. She however, had remained uncharacteristically quiet about her own feelings for him. Truth be told: she had a crush on Richard too. She would reveal this in later years, and no one was surprised when they were married in the spring of 1975. Well, Lucius Malfoy was clearly not at ease; neither was his father, who was Richard's uncle by marriage. They could not believe Richard had "sullied" his distinguished Pureblood line by marrying Muggle-born filth. As a result, Richard and Lila's Half Blood children, Daniel, Tessa, and Madelaine were blasted off the Carroll-Malfoy family tree.

Lucius only had one son, Draco. He was the same age as Madelaine, and when both started school, he too inherited the family's prejudices. But as far as Draco and Madelaine were concerned, they were NOT related.


End file.
